Posts Tagged ‘eyebrows’

You have to try these two brow tricks! First, instead of just one tool, use both a pencil (for the perimeter) and a shadow (to shade). And second, combine a warm shade (the shadow) with a cool shade (the pencil). Just like painting, it adds dimensions when you mix mediums and tones and gives a much richer result… so why not employ the same theory with your brows? Here’s how: (more…)

There’s only one thing that I love more than a side-by-side diagram. A side-by-side-by-side diagram! This way we can really single out one feature and study the difference between three different application techniques. Yes, I left out a brow pencil, one of the most popular brow products, but only because I’m saving it for my next brow study. Today we’re focusing on bare, brow shadow and wet brow shadow.

BARE: This look is for those of us who like a soft and effortless look. Use a spooly brush or disposable mascara wand to follow the natural brow direction: 1. brush the base hairs upward and 2. brush the “tail” diagonally downward.

BROW SHADOW: This look is for those of us who like to frame the eyes and define the brow. With a stiff, angled brow brush (my favorite is MAKE UP FOR EVER’s Angled Eyebrow Brush #270) and a brow powder (I love Laura Mercier’s Brow Powder Duo because you can dip the brush back and forth into both shades), draw individual brow hairs in upward motions as you work your way from the inside of the brow to the tail. For more comprehensive instructions, revisit my Brow 101 Tutorial.

WET BROW SHADOW: This look is for those of us who like a really bold brow to make a statement. It’s also a great way to change the shape of the brow (see how I made Lacy’s more angular and pointed above). To do this, simply wet the same brow brush (revisit my Retro Brow Tutorial for more details), dip it into the brow shadow, draw the outline of the brow you want, then fill it in. You can also do this technique with a Brow Stencil.

Have you ever wondered if there’s truly a difference when you wear matte or shimmer shadows? A lot of us have strong opinions as to which one we prefer, so I decided to do a little case study with these constants:

Same eye

Same 4 shades

Same application

The matte shadows are from my all-time favorite Stila’s In The Know Palette. They are the perfect 8 matte shades and don’t get muddy when you apply them (you don’t need to use an eye primer first). The shimmer shadows are my all-time favorite shimmer shadows, The Body Shop’s Shimmer Cubes #6. I discovered them when I had a long layover at an airport in 2003 and have used them on every single one of my clients on one occasion or another since. The secret to them is wetting the brush first so they’re really intense and last longer.

So now that you can see both finishes in a way that you can really compare them, what do you think? The difference isn’t as dramatic as I thought it would be, I have to say! It’s interesting the way the shimmer shadow highlights any small wrinkles on the lid, but only visible to someone standing really close. But in return, the shimmer really does electrify the eye and bring it to life. The matte eye adds a little more drama and is a little moodier. Anyway, we’d love to know your thoughts too so please take a second to vote below!

This one is for all you gorgeous gals with brows lighter than your hair color. The lovely Hannah was so kind to let me borrow her brows to show you how this is done. Her hair is naturally brown but her brows are fine and blonde. I do this on a lot of my clients in the salon if their brows are lighter than their hair color– often times on a blonde who goes darker. But you can do this at home with a rich brown dye. I prefer to get something in the ashe family when doing brows because ashe combats warmth and keeps your brows from going too golden/red. I also prefer to use something with a lower volume since your goal is not to lift, but to deposit. Try a non-permanent dye like the ones that wash out in 28 washes. I find that regular dye gets too intense and looks a bit fake when darkening brows. These ones by Clairol will do the trick! By the way– this is not the same process as lightening eyebrows (which we’ll get to soon) so keep in mind these steps are only for darkening. Okay, here we go!

You always want to be incredibly careful when using dye near your eyes. If you’re not good with stuff like this, enlist a friend! Keep your eyes closed while the color processes just to be safe.

Start with clean dry brows. You don’t want to do this on brows that have been filled in with makeup because you won’t see the color change as well.

Using a spoolie (which you can buy at any beauty supply) or an old mascara wand that has been shampooed and dried, comb out your brows.

Apply color first to the inside half of the brow as you see Hannah doing above. I prefer doing this part first because I always find that it needs a little more time to process than the outsides. The hairs are usually thicker and more dense on the inside half.

Wait a minute or two and go over it one more time with a little more color to make sure you didn’t miss any little spots– the inside halves of the brow can be really dense!

Clean up the edges with a pointed q-tip. I use professional color remover, but you can also just use warm water. If you see any staining you can use SeaBreeze or any facial tonic to help remove the spot. But the whole reason you clean up as you go is to avoid staining. I would say you should give the insides 5-7 minutes to process before moving to the next step. You should see the color start changing/oxidizing.

Next, apply the color to the outer halves.

Clean up the edges again with a pointed q-tip and wait another 5-10 minutes. The color will probably appear darker than it really is and it can look a little scary. You can always remove a little dye with a q-tip to see where they’re at. If they’re not done, just put a little more color over that spot with your spoolie.

Once it’s to your desired shade, use a dark towel with warm water to remove the rest of the color. You shouldn’t have much staining since you cleaned up as you go.

Check your work in the mirror to make sure you didn’t miss any spots. If you did, just go back in and spot-treat it.

Good luck! Would love to hear your brow darkening experiences or any requests you have below. xo